Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent copper-riveted work pants (1873)

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received US Patent 139,121 on May 20, 1873, for copper-riveted work pants. Davis, a Reno tailor, proposed the partnership to Strauss, who funded the application. The patent covered reinforcing pocket openings with rivets. Manufacturing began in San Francisco using fabric supplied by Levi Strauss & Co.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Jacob Davis, a Latvian-Jewish immigrant and Reno, Nevada tailor, frequently purchased denim cloth from Levi Strauss & Co.'s wholesale house. After a customer repeatedly bought cloth to reinforce torn pants, Davis conceived using copper rivets to strengthen points of strain, such as pocket corners and the button fly base. Lacking funds for a patent, he proposed a business partnership to Strauss.

Patent Grant. Strauss accepted Davis's offer, and the two men received US Patent 139,121 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 20, 1873. The patent, titled 'Improvements in fastening pocket openings,' was issued in the name of Jacob W. Davis, with one-half assigned to Levi Strauss & Co.

Manufacturing. Strauss established a tailor shop in San Francisco for producing Davis's working pants. Davis moved his family to San Francisco to manage this shop, which later expanded into a manufacturing plant. The company utilized fabric from Levi Strauss & Co., which Davis had previously purchased as a dry goods supplier.

People involved

Sources

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